Postindustrial Landscape Redevelopment: addressing the past, … · 2018-12-11 · 37 design and planning principles applied across the six case studies. Keywords—case study, design

Abstract—Investigators of site design and planning projects are

shifting their scholarly emphasis from the design of single case study

projects and isolated objects towards focusing upon meta-studies by

examining the design of larger urban surfaces and the results from

many projects, thus increasing the understanding concerning the

impact of such interventions. This meta-studies process facilitates

building landscape architecture theory, providing a widely accepted

theoretical framework based on specific design principles and norms

from which might influence and guide practical development. The

analysis of postindustrial land transformation case studies

considering both design principles and strategies used in

redevelopment, constitutes a relevant framework towards the

definition of new design and planning normative theories. For this

reason, this research, was based on the examination of 346 case

studies across the globe, and a closer examination of six

postindustrial case studies (Duisburg, Germany; Lisbon, Portugal;

Amsterdam, Netherlands; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Toronto, Canada;

and Chicago, Illinois, USA), in order to build a normative theory

based on a set of planning and design principles that might inform

future post-industrial land transformation practice. Our study reveals

37 design and planning principles applied across the six case studies.

Keywords—case study, design principles, normative theory,

postindustrial landscape.

I. INTRODUCTION

HE fact that theory development in planning and design

arena requires generally the evaluation of practical

projects developed by experienced practitioners, which are

normally imbedded within planning and design firms that are

too busy to publish and share their knowledge, describing

effective planning and design principles for reclamation,

explaining useful normative theories in creating efficient

landscape configurations, and illustrating valuable planning

and design processes to achieve redevelopment success,

Manuscript received June 6, 2011.

This work was supported in part by the Centre for Spatial and

Organizational Dynamics (CIEO) and Fundação para a Ciência e a

Tecnologia (FCT).

Luís Loures is with the Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics

(CIEO) University of Algarve and with the Instituto Politécnico de Portalegre

- Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources - ESAE (corresponding

author - phone: 00351-965193379; e-mail: [email protected]).

Jon Burley is with Landscape Architecture Program; School of Planning,

Design, and Construction, Michigan State University USA (e-mail:

[email protected]).

Thomas Panagopoulos is with the Centre for Spatial and Organizational

Dynamics (CIEO) University of Algarve (e-mail: [email protected]).

reduces both the capacity for theoretic development and

dissemination.

This scenario, coupled with the recent shift of emphasis

from the design of single and isolated objects to the design of

larger urban surfaces [1], thus increasing the impact of such

interventions, highlighted the need to create an original body

of landscape architecture theory, providing “a responsible

structure with attendant principles and norms from which

prescriptions for action may be drawn” [2].

Under this framework, theoretical reflection and discussion

have been identified as an important issue in revitalizing cross-

cultural exchange in landscape architecture and urban design.

As mentioned by Fung (1999, p.149) “theoretical activity can

enrich our sense of the possibilities associated with such

exchange and can be motivated by impulses that are kindred

to those that motivate landscape interventions” [3].

Still, besides the need to establish a somehow unifying

theory, which “might play a useful and important role” in

Landscape architecture and urban design [3], designers should

move in a direction that recognizes that much can be learned

from both design research and practice [4]. As noted by

Swaffield (2002, p.1) “theory can also evolve from practical

experience” [5]. In fact, as mentioned by Fung (1999, p.149)

“it is evident that theoretical reflection and the work of

practitioners can be related as activities that are motivated

by the same kinds of impulses, searching after effects in

domains of endeavor that are cognate with each other” [3].

However, as Corner (2002) points out the answer to

questions as, why theory? why should we need it? why bother?

show that the need for an unifying theory is not consensual [6]:

on the one hand there are those who would argue that there is

no need or time for theory today and that we have too much of

it already; on the other hand the ones defending that landscape

architecture is primarily a craft profession, an artisanal

practice requiring multiple skills and talents. Still, as stated by

Swaffield (2002), quoting James Corner it is clear that theory

may play two different important roles [5]:

- the first connected with the ability to generalize and codify

knowledge as a basis for practical action, a theory which is

typically derived from empirical observation. For example “the

staged approach to site planning, codified into a set of

principles (...) is one of the most widely used instrumental

theories in landscape architecture” [5].

- the second with the capacity to resist and challenge

standardized ways of thinking, putting forward alternatives,

Postindustrial Landscape Redevelopment:

addressing the past, envisioning the future

Luis Loures, Jon Burley, and Thomas Panagopoulos

T

Issue 5, Volume 5, 2011 714

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL of ENERGY and ENVIRONMENT

maintaining variability and fomenting change.

In this regard, as mentioned by Lang (1994), urban design

[as well as landscape architecture] will hardly be the effortless,

intuitive, artistic activity many professionals want it to be [4].

Even if many architects chose often to reduce their area of

concern and continue to operate in “a fine art mode”, which

requires no more than self-expression, they need to

acknowledge both that being an artist should not be the central

role for all designers, and that even if not directly connected to

a specific theoretical framework, architects often base their

projects in specific design principles which are an integral part

of theory.

In this regard Lang (1994) affirms that design has to be

theory-based, given that “while the process of design thinking

may be universal (although specific design methods may differ

from culture to culture), the substantive knowledge of how the

world and the nature of the effective environment have to be

framed within cultural contexts” [4]. Even if postindustrial

redevelopment practice is not single oriented (some of the

works lean toward architectural design; others are more

landscape architecture oriented; yet others are closer to urban

planning concerns) current approaches are manly “site-specific

and driven by economic development motivations, which does

not offer the full potential for sustainable reuse and

revitalization that extends beyond property lines” [7], reducing

to some extent redevelopment possibilities.

This situation is in some way connected to the fact that most

of postindustrial redevelopment approaches are mainly based

in professional taste and self-motivation. In this regard, “there

is a continued need for rigorous research and the integration

of the research results into design theory” [4].

Additionally, the fact that theory development in planning

and design arena, requires normally the evaluation of practical

projects case studies by experienced practitioners (which are

normally imbedded within planning and design firms that are

too busy to publish and share their knowledge) “describing

effective planning and design principles for reclamation,

explaining useful normative theories in creating efficient

landscape configurations, and illustrating valuable planning

and design processes to achieve reclamation success” [8],

reduces both the capacity for theoretic development and

dissemination.

Furthermore, even if a lot of case studies and best practice

examples can be found in literature [9], [10], [11], [12], they

are often poorly addressed and normally do not focus the

issues that might influence and inform theory development. In

this regard, the analysis of postindustrial land transformation

case studies considering both design principles and strategies

used in redevelopment, constitutes a relevant framework

towards the definition of new design and planning normative

theories, enabling somehow the reduction of the existing

dissimilarity regarding theoretic and practical development in

the field of urban planning and design.

In this regard, throughout this investigation several case

studies were indentified, addressed and analyzed considering

the method presented by Francis (1999) in order to identify a

set of planning and design principles that might inform the

creation of a specific postindustrial land transformation theory

[13]. The use of this method, coupled with the framework

proposed by Lang (1994) will enable the identification of a set

of postindustrial landscape redevelopment planning and design

principles that may inform the creation of a specific normative

theory, which might serve as a basis for the redevelopment of

similar proposals [4].

II. CASE STUDIES

Consisting in “a well-documented and systematic

examination of the process, decision-making and outcomes of

a project that is undertaken for the purpose of informing

future practice, policy, theory and/or education” [13], case

studies are considered to be a very important research strategy

and a proficient tool to present and analyze specific projects

[13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18], which enable the analysis and

comparison among similar case studies.

This method has been applied, successfully, in various fields

of knowledge as it is the case of medical research, sociology,

engineering, planning, architecture and landscape architecture

[19]. Furthermore, it is a very useful tool to study the way in

which certain design problems were solved and which

strategies should be followed or avoided [13, 19]. Case studies

are considered a source of practical information, and an

effective way to teach by example, of acquiring problem

solving skills and of developing useful evaluation strategies

[13].

Additionally they are also very useful to explain or even

predict theory related to practice. In this case multiple case

studies are looked at with an eye for generalizable lessons or

principles that can advance knowledge [13]. The evidence for

multiple-case studies is generally considered stronger, reason

why the research is considered more robust [16]. However,

multiple-case study analysis requires extensive resources and

time.

The fact that this method uses a variety of research

techniques (experimental, quasi-experimental, historical,

storytelling | anecdotal documentation as well as multi-method

approaches) and sources of data and evidence constitutes one

of the strengths of the process [13], [20], [21], which enables

researchers with opportunities to triangulate data in order to

strengthen the research findings and conclusions, to build upon

theory, to produce new theory, to dispute or challenge theory,

to explain a situation or phenomenon, etc. [21], increasing the

validity and reliability of the research.

Additionally, as mentioned by Moudon (2007, p.364),

“while research is usually associated with substantive

information and with understanding specific phenomena, it is

expected that research for urban design will yield information

that has normative dimensions and that eventually helps

design”, proposing recommendations for future design [22].

In this sense, considering the premise according to which



nothing is more important to theory than its respective practice

[23], the use of case studies was considered to be very helpful,

given that, as it was pointed out before, while not always used

with this objective, case studies can play an important role in

developing new theory [13].

IDENTIFIED CASE STUDIES

Considering the objective to collect, analyze and organize as

much information about postindustrial land transformation

projects, as was possible within the boundaries set by

schedule, the lack of common theory regarding postindustrial

redevelopment, and the abovementioned premise concerning

the importance of practice in theory [23], 346 postindustrial

land transformation case studies (Figure 1), located all over the

world, were indentified throughout the application of several

information gathering techniques (literature and database

review, project analysis, and informal interviews and meetings

both at the academic and practical levels).

ADDRESSED CASE STUDIES

After identifying the 346 land transformation projects it was

necessary first to address the availability of data regarding the

project, and second to verify the possibility to access, collect

and use that data. If the necessary information was available,

and the case study was considered relevant for the present

research, the project was addressed, describing the used

approaches, the applied design strategies, lessons learned from

such redevelopments and the ways in which designers have

transformed postindustrial remnants, solving problems and

envisioning new futures for these redevelopments.

Following these procedures 139 postindustrial land

transformation case studies from all over the world (which

geographic distribution is shown in figure 2) were listed and

addressed independently.

Figure 2 – Geographic distribution by continent of the

addressed case studies

ANALYSED CASE STUDIES

In order to understand and evaluate the complex

relationship between postindustrial landscape redevelopment

and urban design, considering an effective analysis towards

theory building, no pre-established minimum or maximum

number of case studies was considered. Given that, as it was

mentioned before, it was impossible, considering not only

budget and time constraints of a study such as this, but also the

gure Figure 1 – Geographic distribution of the identified case studies – Used by permission of Luís Loures, all rights reserved

Note: Case studies with similar location were represented by a single red dot.



lack of information, to conduct a detailed analysis of all the

identified projects. A subset that represented specific examples

of successful industrial heritage protection, public

participation and involvement and multifunctional

redevelopment as catalysts of urban regeneration and

economic development encouraging wider access to arts and

cultural activity and facilities (elements considered of extreme

relevance in postindustrial land transformation projects) was

selected. In this regard six case studies were selected for

analysis.

These case studies were divided into two groups considering

their geographic location: one composed by European projects

and the other by North American projects. This division was

created during the investigation, as a result of the case study

selection process, which besides the acknowledge quality of

the project, considered also information availability and

accessibility, i.e. it does not mean that one could not have

selected other projects, but rather that the selected projects

were the ones that better fit the research.

EUROPEAN PRECEDENTS

Within Europe the selected projects were: Duisburg Nord –

Emscher Park in Germany – (Figure 3); Parque do Tejo e do

Trancão in Portugal – (Figure 4); and Westergasfabriek in The

Netherlands – (Figure 5).

Duisburg Nord – Emscher Park

Location: Duisburg - Germany

Design Team: Latz + Partner

Typology | Use: Landscape Park

Size: 230 hectares

Budget: 15.300.000 € - budget which does not include

interventions in buildings, cleanup and the construction of the

underground sewer.

Figure 3 – Duisburg Nord Project Masterplan – Used by

permission of Luís Loures, all rights reserved.

Duisburg Nord Park represents only a small portion of the

effort, which has been made in the Ruhr River watershed to

reuse old industrial areas: the International Building

Exhibition (IBA – from the German Internationale

Bauausstellung). In this regard, the background and the history

of the Duisburg Nord Landscape Park, is directly connected

with the history of the Ruhr region, and consequently with the

IBA Emscher Landscape Park redevelopment project.

Developed with the objective to recover the environmental

damage left behind by the former heavy industries, while

promoting urban development [24], the proposed design

considered several local and regional projects that will

contribute to improve environmental quality whilst protecting

the industrial heritage, strengthening the image of the region as

a cultural landscape [25].

In this regard, the approximately 800 square kilometers area

of the Emscher Landscape Park has received international

recognition for its approach considering both industrial

heritage preservation and the creation of a completely new

type of landscape, integrating aesthetic, economic and

ecological functions. In fact, this landscape may be seen as the

result of the combined effort of a multidisciplinary team of

experts (architects, landscape architects, sociologists,

engineers, among others) in order to achieve a set of pre-

established goals:

- Cleanup one of the most polluted areas from Europe;

- Decontaminate and naturalize a fluvial network of

approximately 350 kilometers;

- Reuse former industrial buildings;

- Develop several cultural and leisure routes, reorganizing

rural areas and promoting the creation of cultural and artistic

installations; and

- Renew former worker’s neighborhoods and develop a

socio cultural network.

Additionally, considering the planning strategy proposed by

the IBA: Change without Growth, land was reused, preventing

additional exploitation of greenfields, or previously

undeveloped land and incorporating ecologically-sound

practices.

In this regard, considering that the site was a complex

matrix of buildings and landscapes, the applied design strategy

intended to use the existing fragments of industry as layers that

are recombined through the lens of park design. Instead of

creating a completely new landscape, the proposed design

strategy attempted to celebrate the area’s industrial past by

integrating vegetation and industry, promoting sustainable

development and maintaining the spirit of the place. Instead of

tearing down the industrial buildings, the project integrates

them, valorising the past and creating a perfect symbiosis

between the past, the present and the future landscape. This

project highlights the interest in the “genius loci” rather than in

the genius of the creator, a conceptual strategy applied since

ancient times [26]. Even industrial wastelands can be filled

with a new spirit and can be made worth living by keeping the

spirit of the existing site visible. In fact, though the park was

only completed recently, the proposal developed by Latz +

Partner's constitutes an important legacy in the reclamation of

derelict industrial sites in urban areas, not only as an individual

case study but also as an element of the overall redevelopment

strategy developed for the IBA Emscher Landscape Park.



Indeed, as new reclamation projects are looking to Park

Duisburg Nord for inspiration it is evident that the way of

looking at history, and at the world around us, is changing. By

literally defining the park as a post-industrial landscape, Latz +

Partner affected how people think not just about industrial

landscapes but any place or space that helps to define a

specific culture or cultural phenomenon.

Parque do Tejo e do Trancão

Location: Lisbon – Portugal

Design Team: PROAP Estudos e Projectos de Arquitectura

Paisagista, Lda. + Hargreaves Associates (consultant)

Typology | Use: Urban Park

Size: 90 hectares

Budget: approximately 18.500.000 €

Figure 4 – Parque Tejo-Trancão Masterplan – Used by


Located at the oriental part of Lisbon, in an area marked by

abandonment and environmental degradation at the confluence

of two rivers from which it takes its name, “Parque do Tejo e

do Trancão” is one of the most emblematic examples of

postindustrial landscape transformation projects realized in

Portugal.

Before being a park, the site, was composed by several

industrial structures like a landfill, scraps, a sewage treatment

plant and many obsolete industrial buildings. The construction

of the railway line in the middle of the nineteenth century and

the location of the port of Lisbon were determinant to the

evolution of the study area as an industrial landscape.

After the set up of some lighter industries (a saw mill, a

flourmill, a calico factory, and a pottery factory) the forties

witnessed the establishment of the first oil companies and the

construction of an abattoir and a landfill [28].

All together these industrial facilities contributed to increase

the contamination levels of this landscape, which before the

intervention was considered one of the most polluted areas of

Lisbon [29]. This scenario - high indexes of contamination and

visible degradation - coupled with the proximity of the Natural

Reserve of the estuary of Tagus and the intention to develop

the world exposition Expo'98 constituted decisive arguments

for the intervention in this specific area. Still, as mentioned by

Blokhuis and Schaefer, the basis of this project was the long

existing need to redevelop the eastern part of Lisbon, an area

that showed lack of occupancy and obsolescence for a long

time [30].

Based on the overall concept of the Expo 98 (The Oceans)

the design strategy considered the site’s problems and

converted them in opportunities of artistic expression. Along

with the ecological and functional sense of the proposed

structure, the plan serves the parallel objective of setting a

spatial organization to translate a coherent and formal unity

reading the site. In fact, this land transformation project was

very significant not only because it promoted the

redevelopment of a highly polluted postindustrial landscape,

but also because it created a precedent for the transformation

of similar areas around the country. The redevelopment of this

area functioned as a catalyst for urban development,

influencing directly the development of the surrounding

landscapes, and contributing to increase the attractiveness, and

consequently the land value of this part of the city.

Additionally this redevelopment constituted an example of

how municipalities can work together towards common goals,

and how it is possible to transform derelict sites into attractive

landscapes, filling them with a new spirit and a new vitality,

while increasing accessibility, services and public

infrastructures, and citizens’ quality of life.

However, even if it was acknowledge that the project would

bring many benefits to the city -once it implicated the

decontamination of the site and the creation of attractive

conditions, through the construction of high quality

multifunctional space where citizens could enjoy the riverfront

area - not even the most optimistic previsions imagined the

range of the impact this space would have in the city. Twelve

years after conclusion this area is one of the most used public

spaces of the Metropolitan area of Lisbon. In fact the

achievements of this redevelopment project where far higher

than expected, as it is possible to confirm in the idea expressed

by Castel-Branco (1998, p.19) according to which even if “the

potential of the river was exciting (…) the sight and smell of

the areas further inland disheartened even the most optimistic

spirit” [28]. Conversely, the proposed design was not only

able to create of a new public space [30] emphasizing the

potential of the proximity to the river, but also to influence

urban growth, redirecting the expansion of the city and re-

establishing the relationship between city and river.

Westergasfabriek

Location: Amsterdam – Netherlands.

Design Team: Gustafson Porter Ltd. London. Mecanoo

Architecten; Braaksma & Roos Architectenbureau; N2

architekten; Search; Ove Arup & Partners.

Typology | Use: Multifunctional Urban Park

Size: 14.5 hectares

Budget: 21.500.000 € - Construction + Remediation.

After approximately eighty years of activity, various uses

emerged on the site of the former gas factory. In 1981 the site

was rezoned as a recreation space with high potential for

cultural uses, considering the existence of several historic



structures and its proximity to the city center. In this regard,

the landscape was not only required to be a green space for

residents but also a location for open-air and cultural events.

In 1996 the district council approved the development plan

for the Westergasfabriek, in which the biggest task was to

design the new park. For this reason, following the developed

plan, twelve landscape architects were invited to present a

general proposal to the committee, which selected five of them

to take part in a competition.

From the five selected designers the commission chosen the

plan entitled “Changement” by Kathryn Gustafson, which

using a simple layout proposed a park that guaranteed various

experiences both in space and time, fulfilling the original

intention to maintain the cultural activities in the park.

Considering the characteristics of the site, the proposed

design aimed to fulfill two different objectives: protecting the

industrial heritage and historic structures; and creating a park

that provides Amsterdam with both intimate and large scale

public spaces for a range of recreational and cultural activities.

For this reason, the used design addresses holistically socio-

cultural, environmental, and community issues, emphasizing

technological aspects of reclamation and renewal and

dispelling ideas regarding the limiting factors brought about by

the pollution and toxicity of some degraded post industrial

sites.

This strategy enabled the development of a design highly

significant at three different but complementary levels: the first

one connected to the initial perception by a variety of

stakeholders, residents and city officials of the ongoing

cultural, social and civic value of the site even in its former

physical state; the second one related with the development of

a consistent and creative vision for the site, robust but flexible

over time, embracing stakeholders and local communities; and

finally the third one associated to the social, special and

material qualities of the envisioned site [31].

The uniqueness of the park is somehow evident in the

combination of a very strong structure with a subtle detailing

in which each place has a distinctive atmosphere. This was

mainly achieved by using the vestiges of the partially

dismantled industrial site layout, as the structure of the park

[32]. As mentioned by the judges from the design competition,

the concept of “changement” fits well within the Dutch

postindustrial context, highlighting that landscape architects

can work a heavily polluted site into poetic yet programmatic

landscape [33]. In fact, the reuse of the restored industrial

buildings, an important component of the Dutch industrial

heritage, as a counterpoint to the green areas of the park,

contributed to the development of a unique landscape in which

the spirit of the place is evident.

Additionally, “by representing such a clear example of the

passage from conceptual design ideas to implemented built

work, it stimulates both professional and public dialogue

concerning the range of possibilities that may exist for such

sites in the future around the world” [31].

Figures 5 – Westergasfabriek Masterplan – Used by


NORTH AMERICAN PRECEDENTS

Within North America the selected projects were: Cuyahoga

River Valley – Towpath trail extension in the USA (Figure 6);

Don Valley Brickworks in Canada (Figure 7); and Millennium

Park in the USA (Figure 8).

Cuyahoga Valley, Towpath Trail Extension

Location: Cleveland, Ohio – USA.

Design Team | Planning Commission

Commissioners: Tim McCormack, Jimmy Dimora, and

Peter Jones;

Planning Director: Chris Ronayne.

Typology | Use: Multifunctional/Cultural Trail

Size: Length – 6 miles, approximately 9,7km. Trail corridor

area – 16.2 hectares. Potential parkland associated with

corridor – 81 hectares.

Budget: approximately 39.150.000€

Located along the U-shaped Cuyahoga River, this valley

was both used for industrial transportation and recreation

purposes. Although in decline due to “de-industrialization”

resulting in the loss of manufacturing jobs that once were the

centerpiece of its economy, the River “Flats” situated along the

valley were from the mid nineteenth century to the mid

twentieth a strategic site for commerce and industry in

Cleveland.

The benefits of the remarkable geographic location, access

to land and water transportation networks the river valley has

increased the attractiveness of the site for the location of

railheads, warehouses, and other industrial and commercial

facilities, which converted it into one of the leading

manufacturing centers in the United States.

However, when the city lost its pre-eminence as an

industrial and shipping center, the businesses that thrived in

the area began to decline or move away, and the economically

unprofitable canal ceased functions. Nonetheless, the

establishment of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation

Area (currently Cuyahoga Valley National Park), in 1974,

enabled the rediscovery of the towpath as a unit of the



National Park Service. Since then, the vast underused and

often derelict open areas along the valley were considered to a

variety of uses and opportunities. The redevelopment

potentials of these locales alongside the Cuyahoga Flats and

their reconnection to the city and the region have been

recognized as of significant meaning to the future and image of

this area.

Figure 6 – Cuyahoga Valley, Towpath Trail Extension

Masterplan – Used by permission of Luís Loures, all rights

reserved.

By refocusing attention on the natural systems of the river

valley, the recently proposed redevelopment project was based

on a broad environmental and heritage regeneration strategy,

which enabled the creation of a unique project. Considering

refined concepts of land transformation, industrial heritage and

environmental quality, the main objective of the project was to

enable the development of a multifunctional landscape with

several green spaces and parks, associated with existing

landmarks. Additionally, considering the redevelopment of the

river valley several projects have been proposed as is the case

of the Towpath Trail, the Ohio & Erie Canal National Heritage

Corridor, and the Flats Redevelopment Plan among others.

One of the most relevant aspects of this project, beyond its

use for both transportation and recreation purposes is the

broad environmental regeneration strategy applied not only in

the path itself but also in the surrounding landscape. In fact,

the significance of this project is somehow connected with the

opportunity to refocus public and private attention on the

natural systems of the river valley, given that for a long period

the development strategy for the city was based mainly in

achieving the better urban configuration regarding industrial

production.

Additionally, the fact that the North Cuyahoga Valley had

an abundance of cultural and historic assets which represent

times of the past and communities of the present, provided an

opportunity to explore these resources, creating an example of

how this area could be redeveloped and of how industrial

heritage could be used as medium for urban redevelopment. In

fact, the design strategy envisioned to this project revealed that

now more than ever, it is increasingly recognized that a place

is built on its past and that history has a high profile in

people’s lives.

Don Valley Brickworks

Location: Toronto – Canada.

Design Team: Michael Hough - Hough Stansbury

Woodland Limited

Typology | Use: Ecological Public Park

Size: 16.5 hectares


Located in the heart of Toronto, the Brickworks industrial

site is one of Canada’s most significant brick manufacturers

for nearly a century. When the brick making ceased in 1989

the site received great attention considering the definition of its

future use.

Its location in the Don Valley coupled with the existing

industrial heritage converted it into a significant link in a chain

of natural and cultural places. This scenario, inspired the

development of competing visions regarding the most

appropriate form and functions of the space, leading to the

confrontation of two completely opposite plans: on the one

hand the development of an ecologically restored urban park,

and on the other hand an intensive residential development.

However, its location in the Don Valley, coupled with its

history and its intrinsic characteristics converted it into a vital

link in a chain of natural, cultural, industrial and historic

places considering both the Don River Valley and the city of

Toronto. In this regard, the site, composed by an industrial

complex with eleven buildings and a quarry was both viewed

as a heritage site, symbolizing cultural continuity, and as a

brownfield inserted into a environmentally sensitive area,

which urgently needed to be restored.

By revealing the simultaneous use of ecological restoration

for water quality improvements, habitat creation, and leisure

and recreational opportunities, the redevelopment project was

seen as an opportunity to highlight the fact that recreational

areas may be compatible with stormwater management, habitat

restoration and water quality improvement. Additionally, the

fact that the ecological restoration of the site might function as

a magnet for people and community events, with considerable

local economic and social benefits, was also considered of

relevance.

The proposed design strategy aimed at a first level to heal

the Don River while promoting conditions to link heritage and

environmental restoration. In this regard, the developed

program, while providing additional green space for Toronto’s

residents, enabled the creation of an inspiring balance between

economic and ecological issues.

Viewed as an ongoing process of renewal and healing this

project considered several key design principles based both on

biological, socio-economic and political aspects, and in a

thoughtful comprehension of the site.

By revealing the simultaneous use of ecological restoration

for water quality improvements, habitat creation, and leisure

and recreational opportunities, this redevelopment project

highlights the fact that if designed appropriately, recreational

areas may be compatible with stormwater management, habitat



restoration and water quality improvement.

Figure 7 – Don Valley Brickworks Project Masterplan – Used

by permission of Luís Loures, all rights reserved.

In this regard, the Don River Valley Brick Works project

contributed to change perception and expectations on urban

open space, transforming the former vision from parks as

simple lawns with shrubs and trees to landscapes where varied

wildlife habitats are merged with leisure and recreation

opportunities. Furthermore, the ecological based

redevelopment of this former industrial landscape contributed

to highlight the fact that pleasant surprises might arise by

working with natural processes instead of trying to control

them.

Millennium Park

Location: Chicago, Illinois – USA.

Design Team:

Landscape Architecture - Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd.;

Harley Ellis Devereaux; Piet Oudolf; Robert Israel; Site

Design Group; and Terry Guen Design Associates, inc..

Architecture, Art and Design – Edward K. Ulhir (project

coordinator); Anish Kapoor; Gehry partners, LLP; Hammond

Beeby Rupert Ainge inc.; Jaume Plensa and Krueck & Sexton

Architects; John Zils; Muller & Muller, Ltd.; Renzo Piano.

Typology | Use: Multifunctional Urban Park

Size: 9.9 hectares


Located in the Northwest corner of the Grand Park the place

which now houses the Millennium Park was formerly used as a

rail yard. This park represents an unprecedented combination

of architecture, art and landscape design in a single public

project. However the development of this park was only

possible due to a partnership established with the Chicago’s

generous philanthropic community, whose donations became

an economic and cultural dynamo to revitalize the area.

The used design strategy was based in a strong

interdisciplinary approach in which architecture, landscape and

art were viewed as complementary elements. In this regard, the

proposed design considered the development of a

multifunctional cultural venue composed by several

installations, created by well-known artists and designers. In

fact the Millennium Park represents an unprecedented

combination of architecture, art, and landscape design in a

single public project.

Figure 8 – Millennium Park Project Masterplan – Used by


Indeed, multifunctionality is one of the most significant

strength of the Park. It offers a complex variety of choices for

every visitor, whether one desires music, theater, opera, public

art, avant-garde architecture, sport and recreational activities,

promenading, etc. For this reason this site has been generally

considered as a value added to the city, given not only its

central location but also its ability to function both as an

informal recreation space and as a major new events venue

both by day and night.

By creating a space where people could enjoy themselves,

merging nature and culture with a significant collection of

artistic masterpieces, which quite literally represent the city

and its people, Millennium Park had fostered a considerable

sense of belonging in the citizens of Chicago. In fact it was this

sense of belonging that enabled a unique public-private

partnership between the city of Chicago and several generous



private supporters.

As mentioned by [34], by addressing both historical and

contemporary issues, the strategy used to Millennium Park,

captured not only the attention of private donors which

contributed money for park construction, especially for public

art and architectural features, but also of the general public,

who saw the park as a destination for both locals and tourists.

In fact, the fund raising strategy constitutes both one of the

most important elements and lessons learned with the

Millennium Park project, and one of the components from the

redevelopment strategy which would be harder to emulate in

any other project, given that little cities in the world have such

a philanthropic community, willing to raise 120 million

dollars.

By creating a design proposal that accommodates public use

at two different scales: the pedestrian traffic moving between

Grant Park and downtown during special cultural and social

events, and the groups of people that visit the park daily,

designers enabled the creation of an important single massive

architectural construction with an intense concentration of

cultural assets that will attract visitors who will pay to park,

eat, be entertained and enlightened, etc. [34]

The fact that the park design itself, constituted an

opportunity to address a series of important questions

regarding urban landscape redevelopment, sustainability and

feasibility, created a momentum for designers generally

recognized as innovative to think even “outer of the box”. This

scenario enabled the development of a park, in which several

ideas and architectural styles were integrated in a single design

that responds both to contemporary needs and desires and to

idea of nature in the city as an antidote for urban problems.

The uniqueness and singularity of this project was widely

recognized since its construction, as it is attested by the more

than 30 awards it has been given till 2005.

IDENTIFIED PLANNING AND DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Considering the types of analysis inherent to the method used

throughout this research, several sources of evidence were

utilized, in order to acquire as many data/information as

possible. In this regard different frameworks were used, being

applied, selectively, to the following tasks:

- Literature review |archival research (project records, books,

articles, websites, etc.);

- Interviewing key participants (e.g. the designer or the project

manager);

- Project analysis - considering several design and planning

issues, as the program, the design strategy, the framework

used, etc.;

- Site visit – performed in order to feel the spirit of the place,

the way people use it, enabling interviewing with site users.

Concerning the different types of data collected throughout

the analysis, 37 heuristically driven design and planning

principles were identified (table 1).

Table 1- Planning and design principles identified on the 6

analyzed case studies

The identification of the planning and design principles was

performed by using an approach similar to the one utilized by

Lang (1994) to identify normative theories used in planning



and design, and described according to the ideas and

definitions expressed in the literature, which whenever

necessary were gauged with the design team, in order to

acquire a more precise and objective information regarding the

definition and the goals of each principle. As it is possible to

notice on Table 1, some of the identified planning and design

principles were used in various analyzed case studies.

III. CONCLUDING REMARKS

The present research put forward noteworthy ideas

regarding the importance of postindustrial land transformation

to the overall land management and urban redevelopment

processes, namely that:

- Postindustrial landscapes, when reintegrated into the urban

context, represent a valuable resource to society at different

levels, improving landscape value and livability and

contributing to increase life’s quality, while diverting growth

toward extant urban areas. This approach reduces sprawl and

reinstates natural processes and functions, being considered a

proficient tool to contribute to sustainable development.

- The analysis and recovery of postindustrial landscapes

constitutes an opportunity that tends to be lost in time,

considering both the lack of efficacy of the existing land use

planning tools to protect these areas, and the growing urban

pressure that, especially in pleasant and valuable landscapes,

have led to the disappearance of various industrial

infrastructures with high heritage value, increasing the need

to protect and redevelop these areas, considering artistic,

historical, and use value.

Besides highlighting the benefits that may arise from the

redevelopment of postindustrial areas, the present research

facilitated also the identification of a set of planning and

design principles that have been successfully used in particular

redevelopment projects, enabling the creation of a common

ground for postindustrial redevelopment, thus revealing the

significance of the proposed methodology, i.e. case study

research, both theoretically and practically.

To conclude it is relevant to notice that the used approach

enabled the creation of a set of planning and design principles

connected with landscape planning and design that respects

site and context; and that the application of the design

principles, presented in this article, in the reclamation of

postindustrial landscapes though potentially beneficial,

represents just a planning and design possibility that may

contribute to increase the sustainability of the design, since

several other, as valid planning options may be proposed.

Moreover, one should notice that the application of these

principles does not constitute a sine qua non equation to the

success of any project. Site and context research, analysis and

synthesis must be performed, once “no size fits all”.

Additionally as mentioned by Welsh Development Agency one

must acknowledge that “the designer’s true role is to better

the things that surround us. Better them in terms of function,

appearance, cost and material: but better them also in terms

of aspiration and desire, in the dream of how life might be”.

This is to say that regardless of the relevance of the application

of the identified planning and design principles in the

redevelopment proposals site specificity and designer

creativity continue to be crucial elements of the overall design

process.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors would like to acknowledge financial support

given by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).

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Postindustrial Landscape Redevelopment: addressing the past, … · 2018-12-11 · 37 design and planning principles applied across the six case studies. Keywords—case study, design

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